Leadership and the importance of history

I recently had the privilege of working at Windsor Castle, which was an amazing experience and a memorable setting. As chance would have it we were there on the 11th November and broke off from our labours to commemorate the fallen from two World Wars and recent conflicts. I also took the opportunity to wander around St George’s Chapel, established by Henry III in the 14th Century and the burial place of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, it is also home to the Knights of the Garter, the world’s oldest chivalric order.

The richness of the history and traditions was inescapable and given added poignancy on Armistice Day. What, however, has this to do with leadership and senior teams? What struck me most deeply was the way in which each previous generation of royalty built upon the legacy of the past; each leaving great monuments that testify to their ambition, which, at times, was wildly disproportionate to what was needed or was reasonable.

I wonder what enduring legacy the leaders of today will leave for future generations? Sadly our environmental legacy will be a permanent scar for our children and one which they will only look at in amazement at our naivety and lack of courage to act. The short termism of driving shareholder value has shown to distort the market and corrupt the judgement of good people. Whilst we are gripped by the fear of recession there is a danger that we do not think about the bigger issues of ‘what is our legacy?’

The history and traditions on display at Windsor is a great reminder of the importance of the past and it challenges me to think about how senior teams recognise and learn from the past as well as think about the legacy that they leave for the future. Finally I like the quote from Zhou Enlai, the former Chinese leader from 1949 to 1976, who when asked about his thoughts on the French Revolution of 1789 he replied ‘it is too early to tell’. Maybe we need to start to challenge senior teams to shift their time line so that they can acknowledge the past as well as think seriously about their enduring legacy.